novelraw Chapter 647 - 646 - Battle Aura
Chapter 647 - 646 - Battle Aura
Lind checked his bracelet as he crossed the Hinterlands to the Caldera of Stars. It was a mountainous area that had an active lava pool at its heart. It was shaped like a 5 pointed star thus the name.
The Forge of Stars founded their main sect there eventually. As Lind flew, he got updates from the Emerald Souls.
[We have confirmed the strike on the Desolate Song was at the direction of Elder Jin. He wants the crystals due to the fact they float no matter the element felt. He is a mid Sun Tier but is a brother to the Sect Master by the same mother.]
Lind frowned. It was becoming sticky but then the next report made his eyes transform in rage.
[One of the contacts inside the sect has confirmed rumors of female disciples going missing over the 50 years. Elder Jin did not have good potential but suddenly exploded forward from low Star Tier to current level.]
Air began to streak around Lind until a massive boom echoed across the land. Any flying beast felt his aura and instantly dove out of the way. His rage was making his peak Moon Tier cultivation seem terrifying even to Sun Tiers.
A final report reached him before the peaks of dark stone appeared on the horizon.
[The prisoners were setup to commit suicide but we prevented it. None of them knew that until they almost died.]
A full description and location was given to him but Lind barely noted it as he knew he would find his prey!
He then gave an order he hoped never to give.
"Seal the area and do not let anyone escape. Do not kill unless forced to." It was only 500 years since the final battle had ended but it felt far shorter to him.
The arrays lit up as a dome appeared but then was swiftly dismissed as someone likely identified him. The guards actually waved him in but he stopped short. He had not completely lost his temper to burn all bridges.
A quick weaving projected Lind's image and voice over the sect.
"I am Lind Frey and I have come for Elder Jin of the Second Peak. If he comes peacefully, that will be the end of it, but if he resists, I will come for him myself. His crimes are as follows…." Lind swiftly relayed the raid, the missing women, and several other things that were given to him by the Emerald Souls.
The guards at first were shocked, then Lind noticed they became solemn but a few roars of anger rose up. Many of those disciples had family in the city around the sect. Lind did not spare details.
He gave no chance for cover up or explanation. Once he was done speaking, he waited. There was no immediate reaction but then smoke began to rise from one of the mountains.
His eyes narrowed as he saw disciples fighting each other. Surely the man would not go so far?!
Lind looked at the guards below on the gate carved into the ring of mountains. They looked concerned but no fighting broke out.
He refrained from transforming as he might do too much damage to the sect. His dragon body continued to grow at an alarming rate of not only length but strength as well. The spirit Qi version was far larger and he wondered if that would be his ultimate state.
"ENOUGH! If anyone continues to fight, I will enter the sect right now!" His voice seemed to mute the battle but then another voice screamed out from the mountain smoldering in front of him.
"Pay no attention to an alien race! He is not human and thus has no true authority over us!" A man flew into the air with a massive halberd made of dark blue metal. Lind felt high Sun Tier aura but the pale yellow eyes and black with gray hair matched the description.
His nose smelled the scent of blood and vileness even at the near 3 kilometers between them.
Elder Jin's aura was not stable which showed he had just broken through. A haughty stare came from him and Lind sneered.
"We are the superior race, now go forth and make our dream rise!" The voice was mesmerizing but Lind noticed a few waves of Qi that showed an artifact was at work. The man was using some kind of subtle suggestion to influence the crowd.
A flare of emerald Qi washed over the sect. It was powerful but Elder Jin waved the halberd. The man clearly expected an attack but the Qi never slowed nor had any substance to it.
Yet, once it touched Elder Jin, the sound of shattering glass was heard. The instant that happened, half the forces fighting below him stumbled and looked confused. They saw dead disciples in front of them in horror.
"Compared to the former Orwellia Empire, your artifact is not that impressive." While such knowledge of the original had been destroyed, it was not impossible for someone to try and imitate it.
"You damned beast! We humans are–" Lind had enough. Protean appeared in his hands to become a glaive. His aura, however, shifted. If the man had a problem with his draconic aura, then let him feel Lind's true prowess.
Protean sang as it cleaved the air but all felt a shift in Lind's aura that left them in awe. Weapons could be honed to intent. Intent proved mastery of a certain weapon to the point that the cultivator could start to manifest the idea behind the weapon they held.
It was a massive step up from the weapon alone. Weapon aura was the next step and often made the weapon a pure extension not only in its physical shape but in the Qi making up the power weapon idea manifested around the cultivator and their weapon.
They became the weapon in human form in a way. There was, however, a more terrifying being.
Lind had made Protean for a specific reason. He had learned from the Relic in Altair about weapon intent in general and aura after that of all weapons again. He had progressed far more quickly with Protean and then it all came together after many battles and comprehensions.
Protean shifted from one weapon to the next as Lind began his attack. Compared to the halberd aura Elder Jin used, Lind's aura, despite being from a Moon Tier, was far more powerful.
Battle Aura! It was true Battle Aura!
Full weapon mastery was the work of lifetimes but even cultivators with their longer lives could not devote all their time to gain Battle Aura. That aura had an exponential effect on weapon aura as all weapons were combined into it!
"You cannot beat me, simple beast!" Lind sneered as Protean glowed with emerald light before the world dimmed. Swords, spears, daggers, and all weapons suddenly seemed to appear to the cultivators looking on.
The few spies and envoys visiting had watched on as Elder Jin seemed to bring doom on the Forge of Stars Sect, but now they realized Emperor Frey was reminding them all about something fundamental.
He was the Emperor for a reason. He had won the war with armies, true, but his power was not insignificant even being only in the Moon Tier.
Elder Jin's eyes bulged in shock as he was sent flying. His defensive armor cracked completely and blood spewed from his mouth as he slammed into the ground. His unstable foundation wavered and it took all he had to hold on.
He had finally made a step forward but then things had gone wrong.
Lind did not follow through as his nose told him something else was inside the structures carved into the mountains.
His fingers glowed before a weaving appeared that tore the defensive formations apart like paper. Lind then seemed to grasp the outer walls at the top of the mountain and ripped it aside to reveal a horrifying scene.
Young girls were weeping in their own blood as they were hung over a kind of tempering bath. They were still alive!
"How dare you?!" Elder Jin was crimson but Lind was done playing around.
"Wrath of Heaven Art!" Lighting suddenly danced around Lind that made all tremble! Black clouds gathered above him and shock flooded the crowd. A tribulation?
Before anyone could fully perceive it, bolts slammed down onto Elder Jin. The man screamed as his armor was turned to powder as his skin blackened. Lind set the Art to keep going for a bit.
Wyndam was a terrifying man after seeing Lind recreate lightning in so many natural ways, the Wrath of Heaven Art was born. It induced the world to create its own lightning which was more powerful than anything a cultivator could create.
The girls were just barely alive as his Qi gently stopped the blood flow. He administered peak Heaven grade 6 elixirs to the 2 as nothing else could help them.
He regulated the Qi as the Art came to an end.
"DIE!" Jin was singed beyond recognition but he was still alive! It showed the difference between Moon Tier and Sun Tier that Jin could survive. Lind did not even look back as his eyes turned cold.
"You should have stayed down." The sky suddenly lit up with emerald light as a bolt of it slammed into Jin. The Law Binding had answered Lind's call! The instant it touched Jin, his scream was like his soul left his body.
He tumbled out of the sky but he did not die! Yet, all watched on in horror as the previously powerful aura of Sun Tier violently left him. He then fell to Moon Tier, Star Tier, and so forth as all his Qi left.
"Leave him alone, death is too easy." The cold voice left no room for argument but then Lind ever so gently treated the 2 young girls before a sigh of relief left him and they looked far healthier. He waved his hand and 2 emerald cloaked people seemed to appear to carefully take them away.
Lind then raised his hand and Jin's body was picked up. It was now rail thin and looked fragile as glass.
"You have no objections, I take it, Taiya?" An old man appeared looking frustrated and angry, but none knew about what for sure. Still, the Sect Master bowed to Lind and said nothing.
Lind nodded and was about to leave before he looked down.
"In case it is not clear, this is the fate of those following the wicked path. Tempt me and I will come for you all." He let his voice carry over the entire caldera and city. Any spy, amateur, or whatever of such power felt a shiver down their spines.
Emperor Frey had spoken and they quickly relayed his words. Many machinations and plans were scrapped as none knew what Lind knew. If he found such detailed evidence of a prominent member of orthodox sects, what did he have on them?!
None gave up, but they spent a lot of resources and time re-thinking how to proceed so that they did not end up the same. With one act, Lind Frey had instilled fear in his enemies and his allies.
The sociable and moderate Emperor was only one face he had. They would not forget that lesson for some time to come.